1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to audio processors and synthesizers, specifically to the methods and systems by which users may control and/or configure them.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Historically, these devices contained analog circuits. Users controlled these circuits by turning knobs connected to potentiometers, pushing keyboard keys connected to switches, etc., thus altering the circuit itself and therefore the sound it produced. If reconfiguration was possible, it was done by physically moving or connecting wires between circuit elements, usually via physical switches or patch cords, though more recently through electronic switching.
Currently, most such devices contain digital processors (CPUs, DSPs, or custom digital logic), which create, modify, and/or play back audio via digital algorithms. (Occasionally the digital processors control analog circuits, but the application to this invention remains the same.) There are thousands of such devices today, far too many to individually enumerate here, and known collectively as “stompboxes”, “multi-effect units”, “synthesizers”, and so on.
Users can control and/or configure these devices in several different ways, depending on the device in question. First, almost every such device has some combination of buttons, knobs, lights, and displays accessible to the user. However, their number, utility, and ability to present information is limited by the typically small size of such devices, and by the cost of including them in each unit sold.
It is, therefore, advantageous to provide some way to control and/or configure the device by connecting it to a general purpose computer, such as a desktop, notebook, or handheld (Palm, Handspring, Treo, etc.) This allows the user to use the display and interface devices of the computer, such as mice, keyboards, touchscreens, trackpads, and high-resolution displays, which are usually far superior to those built into the device. Here are the typical methods and systems of doing so, as of this writing:
1) Many such devices have MIDI ports, which allow the user to create digital data elsewhere (for example, with a digital keyboard or a computer) and send it to the device. MIDI is a one-way protocol and is very slow (31.25 Kbits/second—slower than modern modems), making it ill-suited to interactive communication with a computer.
Despite these issues, this method has been used occasionally in the past. However, since MIDI is a one-way protocol, the user must first find and install special software on his computer in order to do so.
2) Recently, some such devices have incorporated USB ports, which allow the user to connect the device to a computer. Typically this is only used to transfer digital audio files back and forth, not for control or configuration of the device; the device appears as a generic mass storage device to the computer, is treated as part of the computer's filesystem, and files are transferred through the standard filesystem interface.
Some devices allow the user to interactively control and/or configure the device from a computer via USB. However, in every case we are aware of, the user must first find and install special software on his computer in order to do so. (Also, in every case we are aware of, this software is specific to the computer and operating system.)
The best example we know of is the Nord Modular (made by Clavia), an audio processor and synthesizer. The Nord can be controlled and configured via graphical interface software running on a general-purpose computer, but only when directly connected to a computer through a USB port, and only after the user manually installs the program NMG2Editor (which only runs under Windows and Macintosh operating systems.)
3) Most recently, a very few such devices have incorporated Ethernet ports. This allows the user to connect the device to a standard computer network. Since such devices are most relevant to this invention, we will discuss each such device known to us at this time and its network functionality in order to demonstrate the uniqueness of this invention.
The first example is the Muse Receptor, a rack-mountable audio processor and synthesizer (“rack unit”). The Receptor can be controlled and configured in real-time via graphical interface software running on a general-purpose computer anywhere on the same network, and its internal software can be updated via the network. However, to control and configure the Receptor, the user must first install the program ReceptorRemote on each computer they wish to use in this way. (And ReceptorRemote runs only under Windows and Macintosh OSX operating systems.)
The second example is the Looperlative LPI, a single-purpose rack-mountable audio processor (“rack effect”) designed to loop audio during real-time performances. Connecting it to a network allows it to automatically download updates to its internal software, and allows the user to upload and download raw audio files. However, it cannot be controlled or configured via the network, and the interface is both non-interactive and entirely text-based, having less functionality than the raw filesystem interface provided by all modern computers and operating systems (Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, etc.)
The third example is the Manifold Labs Plugzilla, a rack unit essentially similar to the Muse Receptor, though the remote control and configuration options are apparently limited to adding and removing plugins. Configuration requires the user to have previously installed a Windows application called PZView.
There are also many software programs that use a general-purpose computer's on processing power, or dedicated DSPs connected directly to the computer, to process and/or synthesize audio. Most such programs have graphical interfaces, and all are known to those skilled in the art of computer-based electronic music. The oldest and best-known is the program MAX and its various incarnations, beginning as Patcher in 1986 on the Macintosh, becoming MAX/FTS in 1989, and subsequently MAX/MSP and Pd. It allows control and configuration of real-time MIDI and audio data processing via a graphical drag-and-drop interface, and predates most patents on such systems, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,208 (Milne et. al., 2005). Other such programs include Reaktor, SuperCollider, and the various graphical interfaces to Csound.
However, Milne et. al. specifically claim and describe their graphical interface as running locally, on the same computer system as the audio engine. As of this writing, Reaktor's graphic interface is part of the program and cannot be run remotely. SuperCollider's and Pd's graphical interfaces can be run remotely, but like the devices and inventions previously described, the user must first install the graphical interface software on any computer he wishes to use in this way.